May 30, 2017

A Discussion on Design with POLYGRAPH

We talked with POLYGRAPH, the graphic designer behind the amazing Pokémon151 Collection of T-shirts available in the Pokémon Center.

Japanese designer POLYGRAPH has produced some of the most iconic Pokémon clothing ever made. The Pokémon151 Collection showcases Pokémon in unique ways and styles that have been wowing Pokémon fans in Japan for nearly a decade. Now, the collection has made its way to the Pokémon Center in the United States in limited quantities.
We had a special opportunity to ask POLYGRAPH about the collection and the inspirations that went into creating each T-shirt. Read on to get insight into his process and the series itself.


When did you first start working on the Pokémon151 Collection in Japan?
I was first contacted about working on this line in September 2007. Then, after creating sample designs and presenting them, the first batch of shirts in the series was released in June 2008.
Can you explain the concept of the Pokémon151 Collection?
Over 10 years had passed since the release of the first games in the Pokémon series (Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green in Japan), and even though the fans who had been following Pokémon since then were all grown up, there weren't a lot of items targeting adults at the Pokémon Center at the time. So the basic concept I was given when my services were requested was that The Pokémon Company wanted to create for those fans “Pokémon T-shirts that adults could use as daily wear,” with the motif of the 151 Pokémon that appeared in the first games.
On the design side, I was conscious to not only use the art for the characters as a base for the design, but to incorporate the background of each character as well. Also, to unify the overall series more, I made sure to always work the Pokémon's Pokédex number into the design.
How were the characters chosen?
Other than Ho-Oh and Lugia, who were chosen to accompany the release of Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver, I picked the characters to use as design motifs myself. But I wasn't really thinking “let's prioritize Pokémon that are popular” or “let's shine a light on some Pokémon that are less popular” as much as I was simply choosing things that inspired me and made me feel that “this would make an even better shirt” when I looked at the character's shapes and the content of the Pokédex text.
Naturally, I also wanted to make some designs using Pokémon that I like, such as Mewtwo and Cubone (laughs), so I think I ended up finding a good variety of Pokémon that didn't favor major or minor characters too heavily.
How did you come up with each design?

• Kakuna

I liked Kakuna's form because it also looks like a spaceship, so I emphasized that 3D aspect of it in the design. The pose where it's standing completely still, as if it's being protected by two branches, was expanded from the image described in the Pokédex text: “While awaiting evolution, it hides from predators under leaves and in nooks of branches.”

• Graveler

The image of the “Watch for falling rocks” sign came from the text of Graveler's Pokédex entry: “Be careful while hiking on mountain trails. Graveler may come rolling down the path without slowing.” I thought how the Pokédex number, which as I mentioned before I always made sure to include, was worked into the design beautifully as a route number indicator.

• Cubone

Cubone's Pokédex entries feature its mother's death, so I made the motif of the shirt its mother's skull instead of its own body. To keep the image of the shirt from coming off as too hard with the skull and crossbones, I added a ribbon intertwining between the bones to give the design a little softness.
At first, I was planning to put the English word “lonely” on the ribbon, but for various reasons, I put in the Roman characters for the Japanese word for lonely, “kodoku.” [Ed. Note: Cubone's category is the Lonely Pokémon.] Kakuna's “Cocoon” [“sanagi” in Japanese] was used for similar reasons, but I really like how these strange elements turned out.

• Tangela

I chose Tangela because I thought if I really emphasized its tangled bits, it would make for an interesting design. I used thick lines to give it a bold treatment for a street-fashion style. By the way, of all the Pokémon151 Collection shirts, this is the one I wear the most often.

• Articuno